Place shifting devices typically packetize media content that can be transmitted over a local or wide area network to a portable computer, mobile phone, personal digital assistant, remote television or other remote device capable of playing back the packetized media stream for the viewer. Placeshifting therefore allows consumers to view their media content from remote locations such as other rooms, hotels, offices, and/or any other locations where portable media player devices can gain access to a wireless or other communications network.
While placeshifting greatly improves the convenience afforded to the viewer, challenges can arise in effectively creating and transmitting the encoded media stream. The variety of network environments (e.g., LAN, WAN, Internet, wireless telephone, etc.) that may be supported can lead to significant variations in bit rate and other parameters over time. Furthermore, it can take a significant amount of time for the bit rate between a client and server to reach an equilibrium or optimal value, since the initial bit rate is often set, initially, to a low, default bit rate value (and is adjusted upward as streaming commences).
It is therefore desirable to create systems and methods for controlling the encoding of a segmented media stream that is transmitted over a network or other data connection. These and other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background section.